Initial characterization of a prototype target–moderator–reflector assembly for an electron-driven compact accelerator-driven neutron source at CERN's CLEAR facility

This article presents the design, installation and first experimental testing of a novel prototype target–moderator–reflector assembly for a compact accelerator-driven neutron source driven by a 35 MeV electron beam.

EQSANS-CLI: a natural-language agent-ready command-line tool for small-angle neutron scattering data reduction at EQ-SANS

EQSANS-CLI is a command-line tool for small-angle neutron scattering data reduction. It exposes the full reduction pipeline through two input surfaces, an interactive terminal that accepts both slash commands and natural language, and a headless JSON mode designed for external AI agents, both built on a shared command-handler layer.

Angle-dependent X-ray absorption correction in small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering: accounting for constrained scattering volume, beam profiles and capillary wall attenuation

We present an improved numerical angle-dependent absorption correction procedure for line-collimated small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements in thin-walled quartz capillaries. The procedure accounts for the constrained illuminated volume, measured primary beam profiles and capillary-wall absorption, enabling physically consistent data reduction and reliable absolute scaling when conventional experimental scalar transmission corrections become unreliable.

Influence of solidification history and particle size on defect evolution in Al2024 alloy additive manufacturing powder

Findings are presented on the impact of particle size and solidification history on defect formation in Al2024 alloy additive manufacturing powder. The results of this investigation suggest a trend of decreasing dislocation density in as-atomized samples as the particle size increases, with larger particles cooling more slowly.

Anisotropic extension of the Parratt formalism

We derive a generalized Parratt method applicable to anisotropic systems, which is devoid of the numerical instabilities arising in the method of characteristic matrices. We derive formulae for both reflectivity and transmissivity.

Depth-resolved X-ray residual stress analysis on samples with cylindrically shaped surface topography

Modifications of the fundamental equation of X-ray stress analysis are proposed that allow correction of the hoop and longitudinal stresses obtained from sin²ψ measurements on samples featuring an inhomogeneous surface topography. The formalism is verified by angle- and energy-dispersive measurements performed on a ferritic steel sample with cylindrically shaped regions with different central angles.

Probing local atomic structure in thin films by grazing-incidence total X-ray scattering with a convergent X-ray beam

We performed grazing-incidence total X-ray scattering on an indium tin oxide thin film using a convergent incident beam. This approach enables the acquisition of total scattering profiles up to Q = 21 Å⁻¹, demonstrating the feasibility of laboratory instruments for thin film pair distribution function analysis.

Absorption correction for plate samples in transmission X-ray powder diffraction: improved reliability of atomic displacement parameters

An analytical absorption correction for powder X-ray diffraction of flat plate samples in transmission geometry is presented. Independent determination of the optical thickness enables reliable refinement of atomic displacement parameters.

Isopoints in small-angle scattering. I. Form factors of inhomogeneous quasi-spherical particles under contrast variation

A general solution of the problem of observing isoscattering points in the form factors of quasi-spherical particles under contrast variation in a small-angle scattering experiment is presented. It uses the approach of basic functions extended to the practical area by considering experimental isopoints as caustic-type nodes.

A unified resolution and multiple-scattering correction framework for Spallation Neutron Source ultra-small-angle neutron scattering and complementary small-angle neutron scattering

A practical and resolution-consistent data-reduction framework is established for ultra-small-angle neutron scattering, guiding users in correcting slit-geometry smearing and multiple scattering to obtain reliable intrinsic scattering profiles across combined ultra-small-angle and small-angle neutron scattering measurements.

Application of electrostatic and multi-layer embedding in Hirshfeld atom refinements: a cost-effective approach for approximating bulk effects in crystalline environments

A new efficient embedding mechanism for molecule-in-a-crystal electron-density calculations during Hirshfeld atom refinement is made available in NoSpherA2 and benchmarked.

AES-Debye: an accurate, efficient and scalable engine for Debye scattering calculations

AES-Debye is an accurate, efficient and scalable engine for evaluating the Debye scattering equation that enables total scattering calculations for large atomistic models. Corrected pair-distance binning and numerically robust accumulation suppress discretization artifacts, while parallel CPU/GPU execution enables efficient computation of scattering intensities and pair distribution functions for structural analysis.

How a high rotational barrier enables packing-controlled stabilization of a conformational quasi-enantiomer

Variable-temperature NMR reveals a surprisingly high rotational barrier of ∼20 kcal mol⁻¹ (∼83.7 kJ mol⁻¹) for (1,4-di­acet­oxy-3-methyl­naphth-2-yl)di­phenyl­phosphine oxide, stabilizing distinct conformers. This fourfold increase over theoretical predictions highlights the critical role of solvent-induced stabilization in maintaining conformational integrity in sterically congested systems.

Elliptical neutron-focusing supermirrors with Ni–P-plated Al–Si alloy substrates for multi-incident-angle neutron reflectometry

Multi-incident-angle neutron reflectometry is realized using elliptical metallic supermirrors for dual-beam focusing. This approach presents new opportunities for efficient interface analysis.

Enhancing microstructural fidelity in near-field high-energy diffraction microscopy reconstruction with Noise2Void denoising

A self-supervised deep learning model, Noise2Void (N2V), denoises near-field high-energy diffraction microscopy diffraction images without requiring unobtainable clean data. These images allow for lower segmentation thresholds and detection of smaller and weaker diffraction peaks, which are often discarded or overlooked with conventional image processing methods. The result is a ∼9% increase in reconstruction confidence and a more accurate representation of fine microstructural features.

Faster and targeted raster imaging through non-rectangular scanning

A highly efficient algorithm for raster scanning an area of non-rectangular shapes is presented. This method can significantly reduce the required scanning time for e.g. microbeam X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence scanning microscopy.

A low-cost, portable polarizing digital light microscope for monitoring crystal growth and for crystal harvesting

A low-cost, portable, medium-resolution polarizing digital light microscope device for monitoring crystal growth and for crystal harvesting is described. The device can be used with a cell phone or a personal computer for real-time imaging by professional and amateur scientists alike.

Shot-noise-limited X-ray powder diffraction from organic crystals with laser-driven femtosecond X-ray source

This communication highlights the feasibility of recording shot-noise-limited X-ray powder diffraction from organic crystals using a laser-driven X-ray source.

DISCO: a general software tool for dislocation contrast factor calculations in diffraction analysis

DISCO is a program capable of calculating the X-ray contrast factor for single- and polycrystalline materials in real time.

pyRS 2.0: software for the calibration, reduction and analysis of neutron engineering diffraction data

The Python residual stress (pyRS) software package has received substantial upgrades, including a backend reduction workflow and frontend graphical interface that enables the reduction and analysis of diffraction data for texture analysis, a new graphical interface for detector calibration, and a refined user interface allowing the exclusion of points from the residual stress analysis.

pyCXIM: Python scripts for coherent X-ray imaging methods

pyCXIM is a unified open-source software platform that integrates the complete Bragg coherent diffraction imaging workflow – from beamline alignment and real-time data assessment to GPU-accelerated phase retrieval and automated post-processing – within a single easy-to-install package, enhancing reproducibility and efficiency for synchrotron users.

The BioSAXS laboratory of the ITACA.SB Research Infrastructure

We present a versatile state-of-the-art X-ray scattering laboratory within the ITACA.SB Research Infrastructure, enabling multi-scale structural characterization of complex biological specimens and advanced materials through integrated small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) techniques. The platform supports simultaneous SAXS/WAXS acquisition, scanning microscopy, ultra-SAXS and size-exclusion chromatography SAXS measurements.

Online_DPI: a web server to calculate the diffraction precision index for a protein structure. Addendum

From August 2026, the online computing server Online_DPI [Kumar et al. (2015). J. Appl. Cryst. 48, 939–942] will be hosted by the International Union of Crystallography at https://dpi.iucr.org/.

Small-angle polarized neutron scattering study of strontium hexaferrite nanoplatelet ferrofluid. Corrigendum

The name of one of the authors of the article by Grigoryeva et al. [J. Appl. Cryst. (2026), 59, 1129–1138] is corrected.